Interior Secretary Orders Federal Lands to Effectively be ‘Shall Issue’ Hunting- and Fishing-Friendly Spaces

Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum has issued Secretarial Order 3447 – Expanding Hunting and Fishing Access, Removing Unnecessary Barriers, and Ensuring Consistency Across the Department of Interior Lands and Waters. This sets a department-wide policy that “public and federally managed lands should be open to hunting and fishing unless a specific, documented, and legally supported exception applies.”

This order directs the US Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, Bureau of Reclamation, and Bureau of Indian Affairs to identify and remove unnecessary regulatory barriers and allow access to hunting and fishing wherever practical.

This “open-unless-closed” policy will better align hunting and fishing policies on federally managed lands with adjacent state, tribal, and territorial wildlife agencies with the aim of removing access barriers, duplicative permits, and misaligned methods of take. This will provide additional opportunities and greater clarity for hunters and anglers using our federally-owned lands.

“For years, hunters and anglers have had to deal with outdated and confusing regulations when choosing to hunt on federal lands,” said John Commerford, Executive Director of NRA-ILA. “This decision will streamline much needed changes to existing policy and demonstrates a true commitment to sportsmen and women by the Trump Administration.”

NRA-ILA applauds the Secretary’s effort to expand opportunities for sportsmen and women and remove policies that arbitrarily prohibit the use a firearm for lawful hunting on federal lands. NRA-ILA will continue to work with the Department to identify areas to expand opportunities and remove burdensome regulations for hunters and anglers.